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Welcome back to our Sunday edition, where we round up some of our top stories and take you inside our newsroom. The dust is still settling on the nasty breakup between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Here's the latest on how the bromance soured so quickly.
On the agenda today:
- Floyd Mayweather's fitness business is on the ropes. Gym owners are punching back.
- Trouble in Florida's real estate is bad news for the rest of us.
- BI obtained a recording of a Tesla training session that reveals what an instructor told staff about company culture.
- Text scammers are preying on job market fears, and young people are taking the bait.
But first: Time to network.
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This week's dispatch
Networking has a new era
For job seekers, there's a saying that's been around for as long as I can remember: "It's not what you know, it's who you know."
That mantra is perhaps more important now than ever.
My BI colleague Tim Paradis, who writes about leadership and the workplace, published a piece last week titled, "There's really only one way to get a new job these days."
Spoiler alert: It's through networking and connections.
Recruiters and career coaches say professional elbow-rubbing is even more imperative in this economy, where companies are flattening management layers and becoming more discerning about who they hire. Research also shows that companies are hiring fewer people in roles that AI can do.
Friday's jobs report showed the winners and losers of the workforce are increasingly coming into focus. Roles in healthcare and service work are still growing, whereas the white-collar workforce and new grads looking for work are struggling.
In this market, one way for job seekers to get ahead is to build genuine relationships that can help them stand out in competitive hiring processes.
"You've got more reasons to treat networking like healthy eating or hitting the gym — and not something you do only in January," Paradis writes.
BI's Alice Tecotzky and Paradis outlined some of the dos and don'ts of networking in 2025:
Be specific: Make sure your LinkedIn messages stand out. When it comes to online outreach, send a tailored message instead of a boilerplate one.
Keep it professional — even online: Experts say maintaining professionalism on social media is key.
Dress for the industry: In-person schmoozing is back, and dressing the part is crucial. Each industry requires a slightly different look. Know your audience.
Don't wait until you need a job: A common mistake is that people often start networking only when they need a job. Maintaining relationships even when you're secure in a job matters.
Don't make it all about you: Too many people only highlight their own experiences. Come up with questions ahead of time for the people you are meeting.
Don't ask for too much: "You need to be very targeted and strategic about your ask, and you can probably only get away with asking them one thing," Dorie Clark, a communication coach who teaches at Columbia Business School, told BI.
On the ropes
Mayweather Boxing and Fitness had 70 franchises at its peak in 2023. Dozens have shuttered since then, and four of the franchisees have sued.
Ten franchisees who spoke to BI said their industry was facing broader economic challenges, but they also said Mayweather hasn't done enough to promote the brand. The company pushed back, saying it's "deeply misleading" to suggest a lack of contribution from the star boxer, and that Mayweather's stardom isn't a "silver bullet" for a small business.
Tides turn on Florida real estate
The Sunshine State was a pandemic-era hot spot, luring millions of movers. Now, residents are facing an affordability crisis, hurricane-fueled insurance headaches, and steep property tax bills.
Florida's net migration has waned since 2022 despite substantial housing supply. But it's not just a Florida issue; it could be a bellwether for the rest of the country.
A grim warning for America's homebuyers.
Inside a Tesla training session
Tesla halted production at its Austin factory during the week of Memorial Day and held cleaning and training events for employees, including one focused on company culture.
BI obtained a recording of the session, where the instructor encouraged employees to take responsibility for Tesla's culture and play a more active role in improving it. "A lot of people leave this company, and they have kind of a negative taste in their mouth," the instructor said, adding: "It's us as the people on the ground that are a reflection of the culture."
A glimpse into how the company is handling morale.
The rise of text scams
No, it's not just you. There's been an uptick in scam text messages offering fake job offers, and it's about to get worse.
The opportunity is ripe right now for job scammers targeting people desperate for work. The labor market is getting rocky and more Americans are on edge about finances. Plus, AI is making these scams harder to detect.
This week's quote:
"It's definitely founder preparation boot camp."
— Lisa Vo on how the Forward Deployed Software Engineer role at Palantir is key for producing startup founders.
More of this week's top reads:
- "Looksmaxxing" has roots in the toxic online world of incels. So be careful with this new bot on ChatGPT.
- VC giant Andreessen Horowitz's power move has spurred some niche drama at New York Tech Week.
- Middle manager jobs are changing — and it's a career opportunity for millennials and Gen Z.
- Meet the "reclusive" tech billionaire making an audacious bid to buy TikTok.
- Walmart workers are sharing photos of price hikes of 38% or more — and some prices are up at Target, too.
- Six Wall Street veterans share the best trades they've ever made.
- How Lattice is preparing for a world where humans and AI agents work together.
- The 14 dealmakers investors call when they want to offload their private equity fund stakes.
- What the anonymous tech site Blind reveals about the mood in Silicon Valley.
What a top Microsoft exec learned from Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, per an internal email.
The BI Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.
